Automotive vehicle control mechanism



June 18, 1940; F. e. FOLBERTH 21- AL AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE CONTROLMECHANISM rind March 12, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwua'ntov mm 5 a3 m if MC m M 2 PW June 9 F. e. FOLBERTH ET AL- 0 ,6

AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE CONTROL MECHANISM m larch 12, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2June 18, 1940- F. G. FOLBERTH El AL 2,204,672

AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE CONTROL MECHANISM Filed larch 12, 1931 s sheets-sheets Patented June 18, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLECONTROL MECHANISM Application March 12, 1931, Serial No. 522,182

2 Claims. This invention relates to control mechanism for automotivevehicles and more particularly to apparatus for facilitating theoperation of the driving controls of automobiles.

In the ordinary operation and control of the standard type of automobilethere are employed two foot-operated levers, a hand controlled gearshifting lever and a foot controlled accelerator. The driving of avehicle having its control mechanism arranged in this mannernecessitates the disengaging and engaging of the clutch of the vehicleby means of one of the foot operated levers. This disengaging andengaging is ordinarily done to permit shifting the gears from one speedto another and must be accompanied by proper manipulation of theaccelerator which operates the vehicle engine throttle so that the speedof the engine will be properly controlled. A certain amount of skill isrequired to smoothly and efficiently operate the controls of anautomobile and particularly the clutch pedal operating lever must beproperly manipulated to'prevent unpleasant grabbing and unnecessary wearand tear on the car. a

Among the objects of our invention is the provision of apparatus whichis adapted to be quickly and easily installed on any standard type ofmotor car, or which may be built into the car without appreciable changein design, and which will greatly facilitate the control of the vehicleand also reduce the operating cost and up-keep expense; the provision ofmeans for co-ordinating the action of the vehicle clutch and acceleratorwhereby the foot operation of the clutch in shifting gears iseliminated; the provision of apparatus for 'co-ordinating the operationof the vehicle accelerator and clutch which greatly simplifies thecontrol of the vehicle but which does not interfere in any way with thestandard manual control of the vehicle; the provision of controlapparatus for vehicles which will positively prevent improper engagingof the clutch thus eliminating uneven starting of the vehicle; theprovision of apparatus which will permit a free wheeling" effect to beobtained, at the will of the operator, with the standard vehicletransmission; the provision of an automatic clutch control and operatingmechanism which is operated by. the vacuum created in the intakemanifold of the vehicle engine and which may be rendered completelyinoperative when desired; the provision of fluid pressure actuatedapparatus for operating the clutch of an automobile and means connectedto the vehicle throttle operating mechanism for controlling the clutchoperating mechanism.

The above and other objects of our invention will appear from thefollowing description of a preferred form thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of an automobile illustrating thegeneral, layout of my control apparatus installed on the vehicle;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the vacuum cylinder together withthe piston and clutch operating connection;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view generally similar to Fig. 2 butillustrating the piston in a difierent position; 1

Fig. 4 illustrates a modified form of cylinder relief valveconstructionapplied to an operating cylinder generally similar to that shown in Fig.2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 4 and illustrates therelief valve in its closed position;

Fig. 6 illustrates the control valve and the connection between thecontrol valve and the accelerator;

Fig. 7 is an end view of on line 'l-l of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a vertical longitudinal section through the valve and itsactuating mechanism taken on line 88 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section of the control valve taken on line 99 ofFig. 7 and illustrating the valve when in the position shown in Fig. 6.When the valve is in this position the clutch is disengaged;

Fig. 10 is a View generally similar to Fig. 9 except illustrating thevalve in the position it is in when the clutch is engaged;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged detail view of a shut-oil valve which may be usedin the intake manifold connection;

Fig. -12 is a section taken on line |2-l2 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a section taken on line I3l3 of Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a view similar to Fig. 13 but showing the shut-off valve inclosed position.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawings the cylinder C is preferablypivotally mounted at its lower end to the frame of the vehicle as shownat I and contains a piston 2 which carries a piston rod 3 extending outthrough the upper end of the cylinder C and connected at its outer endto the clutch operating lever 4 by means of any suitable bracket such asthat shown at 5. A fluid pressure conducting conduit 6, preferably thecontrol valve taken 25 rubber hose, copper tube, or the likeiextendsfrom the lower end of the cylinder C to the valve V which is secured tothe floor board of the vehicle directly beneath the foot throttleoperating plunger or accelerator I. This foot plunger 1 is adapted tooperate the rod 3 which is connected to operate the carburetor. A fluidpressure conducting conduit 9 leads from the valve V and is connected tothe intake manifold M through a shut-off valve I0. A control rod ll maybe connected to the shut-off valve in and extend up through the dashboard of the vehicle to a position where it :may be convenientlymanipulated by the operator of the vehicle to open or close the valveID. A tension spring I2 is secured. at one end to the rod 8 and at itsother end to the floor board of the car, or any other suitable point,and tends always to hold the throttle of the vehicle in its closedposition, or idling motor speed.

As indicated at l3 a number of holes may be provided in the clutchoperating lever 4. The

object of such holes is to make it possible to secure the piston rod 3to the clutch operating lever, 4 in the desired position. The clutchsprings and the pedal effort necessary to disengage the clutches ofdifferent automobiles vary considerably and by securing the piston rod 3to the clutch lever 4 at the proper distance from its fulcrum point i4it is possible to take care of a large range of clutches havingdifferent operating characteristics with only one size of cylinder C. Itwill be understood that the holes I3 need not all be drilled in theclutch lever but that ordinarily a single hole will be drilled attheproper point for the particular type of clutch in question.

The, cylinder C is closed at both ends by cover plates l5 and IS. A pipel'l leads from the suction end of the cylinder and carries a fitting I8to which the fluid pressure conducting conduit 6 may be attached. Pistonrod 3 secured to the piston 2 by means of a nut I 9 and has a bearing 20in the end plate Hi. This end plate throttle valve in the open position.Thevalve 23 carries a pro ting': 1.

its inner surface whichg'lug 25,;acts as a support for the relativelylight coil spring 26, the function of which-will be, fully explainedlater.

The piston 2 is composed slightly smaller diameterthan the insidepf thecylinder and a cup-shaped. leather sealingmein 1 her 28 which is held inplace'bytheflcupashaped retaining disc 29. This type of p iston'isfwellknown and possesses the characteristics of form-I.

ing a tight joint between the piston and the,

cylinder when fluidpressure is applied oni the;

and of air pastthefpisto'n the other side, .Thusin applicantsconstruction when the greater open side of the cup-shaped leather. sepermitting the free passage when pressure is applied on pressure isapplied to theright hand end of the cylinder (Fig. 2) the leather 28will seal the joint:

between the cylinder and piston, When, on'the 3 other hand, thegreater-pressure isapplied to the left hand end of thecylinclenair maypassfreelyf pastthe piston from; one 3 side. thereof to,,the

' other.

, It will be understood t at although as have specifically described andillustratedv a cylinder.

described later.

nkas t' f the of thefcarburet tainsth hrottle in its closed oridlingspeed lpositio withfthethrottle arm 50 against the adacceleratorand a piston operable therein any equivalent fluid pressure actuatedapparatus, such as a flexible diaphragm supported inla suitablediaphragm chamber, could be utilized. 'We, therefore, do not fwi'sh tobe limited toacylinder and piston arrangement but intend the expressioncylinder and piston," wherevef'used in this specification and theappendedclaims, to include a diaphragm and diaphragm chamber or otherequivalent apparatus adapted to be gperated by fluid pressure.

A small adjustable verrtj olejpds provided in the end cap l6. Adjustmentoftlie size of this hole is made by turning theflatten'ed screw 3|; .7

This screw 31- is,in effect, an adjustable bleeder valve and is adaptedto control the speed of the actual engagement of the clutch as is morefully The end cap I5 carries a bracket 32 having a hole 33 which isadapted to take a supporting pin which is secured tothe frame of thevehicle as generally indicated at I in Fig. l. A A modified form ofrelief valve for the cylinder q is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.- 'Inthis construction the outer end of the valve stem 34 is threaded for theadjusting nut 35. The hole in the bracket 2| through which the valvestem 34 passes is enlarged to accommodate the coil spring 36. Thisspring 36 tends to maintain the valve member 31 in closed position asillustrated in Fig. 5. A very light spring is preferably used for thispurpose so that when the piston 2 moves to the left (Fig. 4) the valve31 will be unseated and air will be permitted to enter the cylinder Cthrough the port 38 thus permitting free movement of the piston in theclutch disengaging direction as will be more fully explained later.

The accelerator, which is generally indicated at .I in Fig. 1, comprisesa button shaped head 33 and a tubular shank portion 43. A disc 4| issecured to the end of the tube 40 opposite the button 39. The valvehousing 42 is bored to accommodate and form a support bearing portionfor the tube n. This housing 42 carries a threaded extension 43 which isadapted to extend through a'lhole 44 in the floor board 45 of thevehicle The .valve V and the accelerator ass'eniblyma-y beheld inposition by the nut 46 which-serves toclamp the valve housing to thefloo "boa ,coil spring 41 surrounds the tube lq ranjdlhas ts je'nd'abutting against the upper endlo'f the ens'ion 43 of 'the valve housing42 and itsfothergend against the under side of the button-39.jI- springis in compression and tends tol oldthe'button 39 at its greatestdistance froirigthe, floor board. The rod 8 carries anenlargedjflankportion 48 and has its upper end 49fextendin'g )into thetubular shank 40 of the -'acceler'ator. opposite end of the rod 8 may erdirectly or through suitable rottle valve operatingarm 50 H The spring[2 tends to mainthatthebutton 3 9, and the tubular shank 40 have beenmoved to their limit of movement by "thespring 41--.- The abovedescribedtelescoping foot accelerator construction permits the hand footaccelerator or the valve V.

tofbe operated without moving the Whenthe throttle control assembly isin the position shown in Fig. 6 the parts of the vacuum controllingvalve V are in the positionsshown in Fig. 9 and the conduit 9 isconnected' to the tubular opening in the valve housing 52 through theport 53. In like manner the conduit 6 is connected to the interior ofthe valve housing through the port 54. This valve V is of the pistontype in which the piston P is slidable in the housing 52 to open andclose the different valve ports. The piston-P is made up of twoconnected end portions 55 and 56 which are connected together by a rod51 of smaller diameter than the ends 55 and 56. As seen in Figs. 9 and10, the end 56 of the piston P is cupshaped and contains a spring 58which tends to hold the piston P in its farthest left position (Fig.10). In Fig. 9 the piston P is in its farthest right position (the sameas in Fig. 6) and the conduit 9 is connected through the space aroundthe connecting rod 51 to the conduit 6 and the cylinder C is subjectedto the influence of the vacuum of the intake manifold. The end portion55 of the piston P seals the vent 59 from the atmosphere when the valveis in this position. The size of the opening to the atmosphere may becontrolled by the adjusting screw 60 which determines the effective sizeof the vent 59. The spring 41 which surrounds the tubular acceleratorrod 40 need be only strong enough to overcome the spring 58 which tendsto maintain the valve V in the position shown in Fig. 10.

A small hole 52' is preferably provided to connect the inner end of thebore of the valve housing 52 to atmosphere. This balances the pressureon the ends of piston P and eliminates any tendency for the action ofthe intake suction to shift the position of the valve. Ifdesired,grooves 52" may be provided in the end of the housing casting leadingfrom the center bore to the edge of the housing so that passages will beformed thereby when the valve is clamped to the floor board. Thesepassages will serve the same purpose as the hole 52'.

When the piston P is in the position shown in Fig. 10 the conduit 6leading to the cylinder C is connected to the atmosphere through thevent 59 and the port 53 which connects to the intake manifold is closedby the piston valve member 56. A small screw 6| is threaded into thevalve casing 52 and has its lower end extending into a slot 62 in theend portion 55 of the piston P; This pin and slot arrangement limits themovement of the piston P as is clearly seen from Figs. 9 and 10. a

The shut-off valve III is illustrated in detail in Figs. 11, 12, 13 and14 and as shown in a threeway type of valve. When the operating arm 63is in the position shown in Fig. 11, the parts are in a position shownin Fig. 12 and the conduit 9 is connected to the interior of themanifold M through the hole 64 in the rotatable closure member 65. Arecess 66 is provided on the side of the closure member and when theclosure member is turned until the arm 63 strikes the stop 61, thisrecess connects the conduit 9 to the atmosphere through the vent hole 68in the housing of the valve. When the valve is in this position the hole64 is blocked off and there is no connection between the conduit 9 andthe manifold M. By providing the recess 66 which connects the conduit 9to the atmosphere when it is shut off from the manifold M the clutch maybe operated by the driver's foot in the usual manner without anyappreciable additional resistance or interference from the vacuumcylinder C and'its'cqoperatingg piston 2.

The operatlofrpf the vehicle, assuming that the valve Ill-is in theposition shown in Figs. 11, 12 and 13, in which the conduit 9 isconnected to the manifold M of the engine and the other parts of theapparatus in the positions shown in Fig. 1, is as follows:

To start the car the operator moves the gear shift lever into thedesired gear, for example, low speed. He can do this without effort asthe clutch is maintained in a disengaged position by the vacuum cylinderC. When the operator's foot is completely removed from the acceleratorbutton 39 the vacuum in the intake manifold is connected through thevalve V to the lower end of the cylinder C thus pulling the piston 2downwardly and disengaging the clutch. The next operation is for thedriver to place his foot on the accelerator button and push itdownwardly. During the first part (a relatively short distance, forexample, about one-quarter inch) of the downward movement of theaccelerator the tube 40 merely.telescopes over the upper end of theconnecting rod 8. This telescoping continues until the flange 4| strikesthe flange 4B. This initial movement of the tubular rod 40'permits theposition of the valve V to be changed from that shown in Fig. 9 to thatshown in Fig. 10. This occurs because the spring 58 always tends to movethe valve closure member P to the position in which the cylinder C isconnected to the atmosphere. Further downward movement of theaccelerator opens the butterfly valve of the carburetor through theconnecting rod 8 and ac-' celerates the engine. Thus when the operatorpushes on the foot throttle button, after having shifted into low gear,the clutch is first started into engagement by connecting the cylinder Cto the atmosphere. This permits the clutch springs to cause the clutchto engage in a gradual and proper manner as will be more fully explainedlater.

The driver now accelerates the engine and after having obtained thedesired speed in low gear he completely removes his foot from theaccelerator button 39. This action causes the engine to slow down toidle speed and the last part of the movement of the tubular rod 40causes the flange 4| to engage the end of the piston valve member P andmove it inwardly to the position shown in Fig. 9 in which the intakemanifold suction is directly connected to the lower end of the cylinderC. The action of the suction causes the piston 2 to move downwardly inthe cylinder and quickly and positively disengage the clutch. The nextoperation of the driver is shifting the gear shift lever into the nextspeed. This may be done without clashing as the clutch is at this timecompletely disengaged. Now the operator again pushes down on theaccelerator and the initial movement causes the clutch to engage asabove explained and further movement will accelerate the engine to anydesired speed.

Whenever it is desired to come to a complete stop the driver need merelyremove his foot from the accelerator button and apply the brake. It isunnecessary to always move the gear shift lever into neutral position asit will be understood that whenever the foot is completely removedfrom.the accelerator the clutch will be disengaged by I constructionillustrated in Figs. 4 and the 'ac-' 4 it strikes the shoulder 48 andstarts to open the throttle, the clutch always starts to engage beforethe throttle starts to open and conversely the throttle is alwayscompletely closed before the clutch is disengaged. This greatly assistsin the most efficient and economical operation of the vehicle.

With our apparatus it is possible for the operator to cause the vehicleto coast or free wheel" whenever desired. For example, if the car istravelling along at a good rate of speed and the driver wishes to coastor if the driver wishes to economize on fuel while coasting down hill heneed only completely remove his foot from the accelerator button. Thisaction causes the engine speed to be reduced to its lowest value and theclutch to be immediately and completely disengag When the driver wishesto again apply the power he pushes down on the accelerator which causesthe clutch to be properly engaged and at the same time operates thethrottle to give the desired engine speed.

Whenever the disc 4! is moved from its position as shown in Fig. 6 untilit strikes the shoulder 48 the valve V will change its position fromthat shown in Fig, 9 to that shown in Fig. 10. When the valve reachesthe position shown in Fig. the action of the clutch springs will causethe clutch to be engaged. The engagement of the clutch will becontrolled by the escape of air from the right hand end of the cylinder(Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5), as this factor will control the movement of thepiston 2 and through the connecting rod 3 the engagement of the clutch-In the form of our invention shown in Figs. 2 and 3 there will becomparatively little resistance to movement of the piston 2 in theclutch engaging direction until tht piston strikes the coil spring 26which will close the check valve 23. This spring 26 may be made andadjusted in accordance with the particular clutch with which theapparatus is used so that the valve 23 will be closed at approximatelythe point in the travel of the piston 2 and the clutch lever 4 where theactual engagement of the clutch begins to take place. From this point onthe movement of the piston 2 will be relatively slow as the only escapefor air is now through the small adjustable opening 30. During'thislatter portion of the piston travel the clutch will be gradually engagedand, by adjusting the screw 3|, this final engaging action maybecontrolled to suit the operator and to fit the particular clutch withwhich the apparatus is to be used. Free movement of the piston 2 in theopposite direction (to the left in the drawings) will not be interferedwith as the spring 26 may be so light and flexible that as soon as thepiston 2 starts to move to the left thevalve 23 will berlifted from itsseat by the reduction of pressure in the cylinder and there will be afree flow of air into the cylinder through the valve opening.

1 In the modified form of cylinder check valve tion is substantially thesame as that above described. held closed by the spring 36. Thus whenthe piston 2 starts to move to the right to permit the clutch to engagethe only escape of air will be through the small vent hole 30. However,the initial movement of the piston 2 will be relatively fast and will begradually slowed down as the air is compressed in the cylinder. Thiscompressing action takes place because the air is not able to escaperapidly enough through the hole 30.

In this case the valve 31 is normally,

It has been found that, by proper adjustment of the screw 3| and properproportioning of the parts, the movement of the piston 2 during theengaging action of the clutch may be so controlled that it is relativelyrapid up to the point where the actual engaging of the clutch begins andfrom this point on is relatively slow and gradual to secure the desiredsmooth and nongrabbing clutch action. This construction also permitsfree movement of the piston in the disengaging operation because thespring 36 is so light'that any movement of the piston to the left willunseat the valve 3'! and permit air to be drawn in through the port 38.

Free movement of the piston in the clutch disengaging direction (to theleft in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5), which is particularly desired when themanifold M is shut off from the cylinder by the valve M), is assuredboth by the connection to the atmosphere through the hole 68 in thevalve [0 and by the construction of the piston 2. This piston 2 is ofthe well known type used frequently in bicycle and automobile tirepumps. When pressure is applied on the open side of the cup-shapedleather washer 28 it is pressed outwardly against the cylinder wall andforms a tight seal. However, if pressure tends to build up on the otherside of the piston (left hand end in the drawings) the air will passfreely around the disc 21 and the washer 28 and it will be seen thatthere will not be any appreciable resistance to movement of the pistonin the clutch disengaging direction.

When it is desired to disconnect our automatic clutch control mechanismthe driver pulls up wardly on the rod H thus moving the valve 10 fromthe position shown in Figs. 1, 11, 12 and 13 to that shown in Fig. 14.This shuts off the manifold M from the conduit 9, which leads to, thevalve V, and connects the conduit 9 to the atmosphere through theopening 68. It will be seen that, with this connection to theatmosphere, the lower end of the cylinder C will always be connected toatmosphere when the valve I0 is in the off position (Fig. 14),regardless of the position of the valve V. Thus the co-acting operationof the throttle control and the clutch will be destroyed and theoperation of the vehicle will be the same, in so far as the movements ofthe driver necessary to control the vehicle are concerned, as though ourcontrol apparatus were not installed thereon, There will be, however, animproved clutch engaging action as the cylinder C will now act as a dashpot to govern and control the engagement of the clutch regardless of howquickly the operator may remove his foot from the pedal. This action isof distinct advantage as the clutch will always be properly engagedirrespective of the inexperience or improper action of the driver.

From the above description of a preferred form of our apparatus and ofthe ordinary operation thereof it will be seen by those skilled in theart that we have provided means for greatly simplifying the operation ofa motor vehicle. Although we have shown and described one form of ourinvention in considerable detail it will be understood by those skilledin the'art that modifications and variations thereof may bemade witnoutdeparting from the spirit of our invention and we do not, therefore,limit ourselves to [the precise details shown and described but claim asour invention all embodiments thereof coming within the scope of theappended claims. I We claim:

2. In apparatus of the class described, a cylinder, a piston insaidcylinder, a valve disposed at one end of said cylinder and resilientmeans secured to said valve and extending into said cylinder, saidresilient means being adapted to be engaged by said piston to close saidvalve while offering very small resistance to the movement of saidpiston toward said valve.

FREDERICK G. FOLBERTH. WILLIAM M. FOLBERTH.

